The Galapagos Islands: The isles that changed the world

The Galapagos Islands are 562 miles west of Ecuador in the South
Pacific Ocean. The volcanic islands sit both sides of the Equator,
and today are probably most famous thanks to Charles Darwin's
fateful voyage. Home to species of plants and animals that live
nowhere else on earth, the Galapagos Islands offer a peek into the
'living laboratory' of evolution. Visit the archipelago on luxury
train holidays and see the vast array of unique endemic species
that inspired Darwin in 1835, and changed our view of the
world.

Created by vast underwater volcanic eruptions, the archipelago
sits on the equator, almost six hundred miles off the coast of
South America. Alone in the Pacific Ocean, on the group of small
islands, life has evolved independently from anywhere else on
Earth. The first Europeans to set foot on the islands arrived by
accident, they were stranded on the volcanic shores for five days,
until the wind changed and they could escape. These men described
the islands as hell on earth. The islands inhabitants were
relatively undisturbed by humans for thousands of years. The first
permanent human inhabitant was a marooned Irish sailor, who made
the islands his home for two years from 1807 to 1809. No evidence
has ever been found of permanent human habitation before this time,
so the islands animal inhabitants have no innate fear of
humans.

Las Encantadas

After the first accidental visit from Europeans, the islands
were again seemingly forgotten about. They weren't recorded on any
maps, had no name and even their existence was doubted. Sailors
referred to the islands as Las Encantadas, 'The Enchanted'. It
wasn't until the late 1500s that they were finally added to a map.
When the existence of the islands was confirmed, ships began
setting sail for them. Pirates were the first to arrive. They based
themselves on the islands as they were perfectly situated to launch
raids on Spanish galleons carrying gold from South America.

The next wave of settlers to the Galapagos were attracted to the
treasure the islands themselves held. The oceans surrounding the
Galapagos are home to a large number of Sperm Whales. Once this
knowledge got out, whaling ships flocked to the islands, and
stories of encounters with these 'monsters' became commonplace. But
it wasn't only the sperm whales that were in danger from the
newfound human interest in the archipelago. Ships needed a supply
of fresh food. The giant tortoises living on the Galapagos Islands
could survive months without water, meaning they were more than
suitable to supply food for long sea voyages. In just 200 years,
more than 200,000 Galapagos Tortoises' were taken from the islands
to be used as food for sailors. On some islands, tortoises were
completely wiped out.

Endless forms most beautiful

As more people visited the islands, a more complete picture was
built up of their terrain. One of the ships to visit the islands
was the HMS Beagle. The survey ship made a brief five-week stop on
the islands after three years spent charting the South American
coast. The HMS Beagle brought a twenty-six year old Darwin to the
islands, which finally led to the publication of The Origin of
Species.

The islands were first named, Insulae de los Galopegos (Islands
of the Tortoises), after the giant tortoises that live there. It
was these tortoises, along with the now famous finches, that helped
steer Charles Darwin towards his theory of evolution. On his visit
to the islands he noted that the finches living there varied from
island to island. It was also mentioned to him that the same
occurred with the tortoises on each island.

There is grandeur in this view of life

Charles Darwin only ever spent five weeks on the Galapagos
Islands, but while he was there he collected numerous specimens of
the plants and animals native to the islands. It was on the long
voyage home his attention was caught by the mockingbird specimen he
had collected. He had specimens from four different islands, he
noted that two of the birds were the same, while the other two were
both different. This realisation that birds from different islands
had different characteristics led Darwin to his realisation that
the animals had changed to suit their environment. This began to
steer him towards his famous theory of evolution.

Today the Galapagos Islands can be visited on luxury train
holidays to South America. Take the chance to walk in the
footsteps of Charles Darwin, and see for yourself the islands that
changed our view of life on Earth.